She is a flying tamer.
The friendly skies seem more unfriendly every day, forcing flight attendants to be ever on guard. Luckily, a former Emirates flight attendant has discovered a foolproof, four-step method to prevent an in-flight tantrum – which involves talking to frantic flyers like a ‘kindergarten teacher’.
“Just listening and not interrupting is often enough for the passenger to express their frustration and not escalate it further,” former airline employee Marika Mikusova told the Daily Mail.
Mikusova, who spent five years working on air, said the technique goes by the acronym LEAP — the letters that stand for “listen, empathize, ask and paraphrase.”
The first step involves listening to the panicked passenger carefully “without interrupting,” from the former crew member who wrote three “Diaries of a Flight Attendant” books detailing her career at 30,000 feet.
“If the passenger is sitting, it’s best to lean over so that he or she doesn’t feel that we have a psychological advantage by standing up and looking at them as if we were their parent, teacher or some authority figure. – instructed the unruly passenger whisperer. “So if you see a flight attendant kneeling in the aisle who isn’t smiling, just listening intently to the passenger and occasionally nodding, you know what it’s about.”
The nod is also essential as it shows that “we understand their anger and are keen to solve the problem,” the Prague resident said.
In a similar way, displaying the right body language is also essential when it comes to putting a tense traveler at ease.
“It is difficult for the passenger to believe that we are trying to find a solution if, for example, we keep our arms crossed,” said Mikusova.
Sometimes just listening without interruption is enough to overcome an initially volatile situation, according to the former flight attendant.
When those tactics fail to calm a frantic passenger, Mikusova said flight attendants should ask “open-ended questions,” asking for specifics about “what,” “where” and “when.” They help get to the root of the problem while also “giving the complainant a chance to fully express their feelings,” she explained.
Finally, it is better to summarize what has been said.
“In the end we play a kindergarten teacher”, said Mikusova. “So we’re summarizing the information that the passenger gave us to let him or her know what we’ve been hearing all along and get their point across. Meanwhile, the passenger either nods or corrects us as appropriate.”
Overall, by that point, the passenger is “extremely relieved” and “feels like a winner,” Mikusova said.
And while the flight attendant may feel “put out” by playing the plane’s crisis negotiator, it’s often necessary to prevent cursing, physical aggression, wrecking the plane, and other unintended outcomes.
Of course, sometimes words are not enough to prevent the ordeal from escalating, in which case it is necessary to go to plan B – restrictions.
“For those who are aggressive, we have not words, but deeds – and useful equipment in our containment package,” Mikusova said.
According to The Points Guy, means of calming down passengers can include cable ties, handcuffs, seat belt extenders and even duct tape.
Unfortunately, physical measures appear to be increasingly necessary given recent incidents of air barbarism, which have included several cases of fliers attempting to open an emergency exit mid-flight.
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Image Source : nypost.com